ws120 wrote:Unpopular opinion, but this may be an excuse. You can be highly depressed and high functioning. If you really believe your depression is interfering with studying for this test, absolutely go see a therapist and get medication. But don't use this as an excuse to say "I could have, but..." We see that all the time. There are a million reasons why someone can't spend effective time studying, but if you don't choose to eliminate those reasons you still have to live with the consequences. You'll be in the same boat as the person who sat in the library for 8 hours on his phone and finds his "studying" didn't pay off.

Less unpopular, more indicative of a common stigma against people with depression and/or anxiety. That is.. that they are people who simply are making excuses. Go back to the original comment. At what point did OP provide an excuse?

In posing a question at all, it's pretty clear that this person believes there is a way to study effectively/be highly functional even with their condition. No need to patronizingly repeat the obvious. It can be hugely invalidating to reduce someone's attempt to seek advice from ppl who may have experience dealing with a similar situation (sounds like this isn't you) to merely making excuses.

I believe OP's question was how to "cope" with anxiety and depression and study effectively, which is a perfectly fair question. But if this is a medical condition, then go see a doctor or therapist instead of posting on a forum. It's always hard to "force" yourself to study because studying isn't fun (even for the LSAT). If OP is serious about fixing this problem, then he/she should seek medical help. But when you're a practicing attorney, waking up certain days and saying "I can't force myself to do the work" isn't an option. No one is stigmatizing an illness, but it's definitely possible to use illness as a crutch. And that can make those of us who "cope" with real problems seem insensitive to people who don't.

Depression is a medical condition - It's not an "excuse." Those who haven't experienced it cannot understand how debilitating it is. It's not even close to the same as feeling unmotivated or unable to force yourself to study because studying isn't fun.

That said, OP should definitely seek medical help, if they aren't already. But that can (and often does) involve legitimate obstacles. There's absolutely nothing wrong with posting on an internet forum asking how others deal with the same problem.

I couldn't agree more, and I hope OP gets the help he/she needs. But not trying to get that help and instead looking for an easier solution on TLS that doesn't exist seems like pushing the problem down the road. I know many people who have serious mental health problems, some of whom have gotten the help they need and others who haven't. And while I always encourage the ones who haven't to do so, they don't address the problem and it becomes an excuse for everything they do in life. I seriously encourage OP to realize this is a medical problem, not one that can be fixed from advice on TLS.

As someone who has been both high- and low-functioning with a mood disorder, I have a lot to say... But I'll start with: Please, don't speak on something you clearly do not understand.

As someone else said, you're making a hell of a lot of assumptions about OP. Also, for you to think that reaching out to other people who suffer from similar issues and asking how they recommend coping is ~ not ~ a way of attempting to address the problem, you're a fool. Believe it or not, sometimes people who have experienced the situation actually can offer solid advice that will lead to positive changes.

To suggest someone asking how to cope when they're having a bad day (and not the basic kind of bad day other people complain about) is a form of using illness as a crutch is just stupid.It's not like OP came on here and was like, "Omg, stupid mood disorder. Can't get any work done. Oh well. Better luck tomorrow," although I'd argue that sometimes the best treatment for a dip in your mood when you suffer from depression CAN actually be taking a day for yourself.

You claim you're not stigmatizing, but you absolutely are. Your comments are incorrect, insensitive, and clearly out-of-touch. Also, this whole, "If you're not seeking professional help, you're using your illness as an excuse," line is bullshit and you should stop saying it.

Different people with the same illnesses find different methods to work for them best. Not all depressed people are going to find relief in therapy. Sure, psychological research suggests that a combination of meds and therapy works best, but that's if it's the RIGHT medication, if it's the RIGHT diagnosis, if it's a therapist that's a good fit for the patient, etc.

This whole idea of "fixing" people with mental illness/mood disorders is also tired and fucking annoying. We're not broken little toys that need to be tinkered with and, as unfortunate as this may sound, most people diagnosed with a mental illness will live with that mental illness throughout their life.

Also, just to put an emphasis on your own (pointless) comment: You can be depressed and high-functioning. That doesn't mean you will be. If someone CAN be something, that also leaves the opposite possibility to be true, does it not? Therefore, per your own words, someone can also be depressed and low-functioning. Contrary to your (strange) belief, depressed people don't have some sort of dimmer switch in their brain where it's like, "Wow, I kinda wish I was dead but I really need to do this assignment so let me turn my functionality up even though I can't even think of the purpose of my life."

Well this took a strange turn. I've never considered depression as an excuse lol, that's a ridiculous assumption to make. i just wanted to know what people did to maximize their happiness/efficiency/whatever else, as there are a ton of things people do. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not looking for the solution to my problem on TLS (lol at that, also), just wanted to hear a couple suggestions from people in similar situations.

ws120 wrote:Unpopular opinion, but this may be an excuse. You can be highly depressed and high functioning. If you really believe your depression is interfering with studying for this test, absolutely go see a therapist and get medication. But don't use this as an excuse to say "I could have, but..." We see that all the time. There are a million reasons why someone can't spend effective time studying, but if you don't choose to eliminate those reasons you still have to live with the consequences. You'll be in the same boat as the person who sat in the library for 8 hours on his phone and finds his "studying" didn't pay off.

Less unpopular, more indicative of a common stigma against people with depression and/or anxiety. That is.. that they are people who simply are making excuses. Go back to the original comment. At what point did OP provide an excuse?

In posing a question at all, it's pretty clear that this person believes there is a way to study effectively/be highly functional even with their condition. No need to patronizingly repeat the obvious. It can be hugely invalidating to reduce someone's attempt to seek advice from ppl who may have experience dealing with a similar situation (sounds like this isn't you) to merely making excuses.

I believe OP's question was how to "cope" with anxiety and depression and study effectively, which is a perfectly fair question. But if this is a medical condition, then go see a doctor or therapist instead of posting on a forum. It's always hard to "force" yourself to study because studying isn't fun (even for the LSAT). If OP is serious about fixing this problem, then he/she should seek medical help. But when you're a practicing attorney, waking up certain days and saying "I can't force myself to do the work" isn't an option. No one is stigmatizing an illness, but it's definitely possible to use illness as a crutch. And that can make those of us who "cope" with real problems seem insensitive to people who don't.

Depression is a medical condition - It's not an "excuse." Those who haven't experienced it cannot understand how debilitating it is. It's not even close to the same as feeling unmotivated or unable to force yourself to study because studying isn't fun.

That said, OP should definitely seek medical help, if they aren't already. But that can (and often does) involve legitimate obstacles. There's absolutely nothing wrong with posting on an internet forum asking how others deal with the same problem.

I couldn't agree more, and I hope OP gets the help he/she needs. But not trying to get that help and instead looking for an easier solution on TLS that doesn't exist seems like pushing the problem down the road. I know many people who have serious mental health problems, some of whom have gotten the help they need and others who haven't. And while I always encourage the ones who haven't to do so, they don't address the problem and it becomes an excuse for everything they do in life. I seriously encourage OP to realize this is a medical problem, not one that can be fixed from advice on TLS.

As someone who has been both high- and low-functioning with a mood disorder, I have a lot to say... But I'll start with: Please, don't speak on something you clearly do not understand.

As someone else said, you're making a hell of a lot of assumptions about OP. Also, for you to think that reaching out to other people who suffer from similar issues and asking how they recommend coping is ~ not ~ a way of attempting to address the problem, you're a fool. Believe it or not, sometimes people who have experienced the situation actually can offer solid advice that will lead to positive changes.

To suggest someone asking how to cope when they're having a bad day (and not the basic kind of bad day other people complain about) is a form of using illness as a crutch is just stupid.It's not like OP came on here and was like, "Omg, stupid mood disorder. Can't get any work done. Oh well. Better luck tomorrow," although I'd argue that sometimes the best treatment for a dip in your mood when you suffer from depression CAN actually be taking a day for yourself.

You claim you're not stigmatizing, but you absolutely are. Your comments are incorrect, insensitive, and clearly out-of-touch. Also, this whole, "If you're not seeking professional help, you're using your illness as an excuse," line is bullshit and you should stop saying it.

Different people with the same illnesses find different methods to work for them best. Not all depressed people are going to find relief in therapy. Sure, psychological research suggests that a combination of meds and therapy works best, but that's if it's the RIGHT medication, if it's the RIGHT diagnosis, if it's a therapist that's a good fit for the patient, etc.

This whole idea of "fixing" people with mental illness/mood disorders is also tired and fucking annoying. We're not broken little toys that need to be tinkered with and, as unfortunate as this may sound, most people diagnosed with a mental illness will live with that mental illness throughout their life.

Also, just to put an emphasis on your own (pointless) comment: You can be depressed and high-functioning. That doesn't mean you will be. If someone CAN be something, that also leaves the opposite possibility to be true, does it not? Therefore, per your own words, someone can also be depressed and low-functioning. Contrary to your (strange) belief, depressed people don't have some sort of dimmer switch in their brain where it's like, "Wow, I kinda wish I was dead but I really need to do this assignment so let me turn my functionality up even though I can't even think of the purpose of my life."

Agree with Brinicolec and I would point out that LSAC agrees too. The very fact that they allow for potential accom. to those who feel they have depression/anxiety shows that they would agree with him too. Further, I think we can safely assume they don't think it's something debilitating to any future in law or else why would they even allow for that option in the first place?

Last edited by ltowns1 on Thu Apr 06, 2017 9:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

oopsu812 wrote:Disclaimer: I have never been diagnosed with depression or anxiety, so I won't mention medication or anything like that, but I will offer what I have found successful for myself. I don't claim that this will work for everyone, as everyone's experience is different. I'm purely speaking to my own experience.

For me, it's important to ensure that no day is a "zero day" so to speak. Even if I don't study or get something greatly substantial done, as long as I can take a shower, or vacuum, or cook a fresh and healthy meal, I know I'll get through it. The moment I spend a day unable to get out of bed and don't bother eating or drinking water, I'm fucked. It's incredibly difficult and everyone is different, but recognizing what you're feeling before it gets to the point where it's crippling is, at least to me, key.

I'm also a big proponent of routine. I find I struggle a hell of a lot more with these issues when I'm not eating right, exercising, sleeping properly, going to class, etc. I find my mental health and physically health are very connected.

Having not dealt with this firsthand, I can't really speak from experience. But we have to make a couple distinctions that will be helpful.

There is a difference between depression (clinically speaking) and bad days. Bad days happen for all of us, and we react with various negative emotions. But the emotions are proportional to the stimulus. Depression is when the negative emotions are disproportionate to the negative stimulus that caused the downturn. Advocating medicine for downturns that are healthy reactions to life is, in my opinion, dangerous and reckless.

It's important to make sure that your days are productive, not through forcing yourself to hunker down but through gentle pressure. Understand that every day isn't going to be the same, as the frustration about being unproductive is going to just cause more sadness in a vicious cycle. Routine, physical exercise, adequate sleep, healthy eating, and good friends can all help bring you back up.

Blueprint Brett wrote:Like some others here, I'm a huge proponent of medication when necessary. And, for the good news, LSAC is pretty gracious in granting testing accommodations for mental health issues. If your anxiety is so severe and worse when you take the test, you should look into receiving some sort of testing accommodations for it. I tutored someone a while ago who had severe anxiety and was able to get 50 minutes/section. Check it out!

damn i was so anxious during the LSAT, I think i would have given a pinky for an extra 15 minutes a section

Curious about this.

Anyone know the obstacles to getting an accommodation for something like anxiety during test-taking? Are exam accommodations through the students university enough? Or continual treatment/documentation?

Also, if granted, will schools be able to see that a student had accommodations? And if so, any thoughts on if that could negatively impact acceptances?

Schools will NOT see if you were given an accommodation. LSAC used to do this and were taken to court over it and no longer give any indication of an accommodation. There are very specific instructions for documentation for accommodation given on the LSAC website:http://www.lsac.org/jd/lsat/accommodated-testing

ltowns1 wrote:Agree with Brinicolec and I would point out that LSAC agrees too. The very fact that they allow for potential accom. to those who feel they have depression/anxiety shows that they would agree with him too. Further, I think we can safely assume they don't think it's something debilitating to any future in law or else why would they even allow for that option in the first place?

LSAC does not allow an accommodation to "those who feel they have depression/anxiety." There needs to be specific documentation and diagnosis by a health professional for an accommodation to be granted. Additionally, the health professional needs to list the specific accommodation(s) needed and how they give the candidate the mechanism for demonstrating their ability.

ltowns1 wrote:Agree with Brinicolec and I would point out that LSAC agrees too. The very fact that they allow for potential accom. to those who feel they have depression/anxiety shows that they would agree with him too. Further, I think we can safely assume they don't think it's something debilitating to any future in law or else why would they even allow for that option in the first place?

LSAC only cares about the integrity of the exam. They aren't evaluating a student's future career in law nor should they.

I appreciate you taking the time to write this post. I hope you feel better soon. I also struggle with anxiety and minor depression. It makes me feel better to know I'm not alone here on TLS and in my LSAT prep with such issues. Happy to read a lot of kind replies here. I wish you and everyone all the best. Thank you for sharing ...

I appreciate you taking the time to write this post. I hope you feel better soon. I also struggle with anxiety and minor depression. It makes me feel better to know I'm not alone here on TLS and in my LSAT prep with such issues. Happy to read a lot of kind replies here. I wish you and everyone all the best. Thank you for sharing ...

Still going through it now, but I have improved a lot with better techniques on the LSAT. The anxiety is helped to some degree when you have better confidence in what you're doin. I have physical reactions that caused me a lot of bad days when trying to focus on this test. Again, there not all gone, but it can be overcome! Good luck everyone who has similar problems